Is sugar in beverages the leading cause of obesity and heart disease?

I saw the documentary below that highlights that although sugar does not contain as much calories as fat, it has such an impact on the chemistry of our body and our way of dealing with incoming calories that is it one the leading causes of obesity. This even highlights fruit juice as a real probably problem since it allow us to intake way more fructose(sugar) than we ever would if we were eating the fruits. Plus the fiber that helps us process the sugar in the best way, is significantly reduced between the fruit and the juice. Do you feel this is true and could this mean diet drinks with no sugar are better for our health than fruit juice?

will have to disagree re: Kellogg. Battle Creek is where the Seventh Adventist Church was born (Kellogg himself being one of the founders), and these are pretty healthy types, so much so that their Orange County community is discussed in the Blue Zones book (a book that describes areas of high human longevity). They may be vegetarians, but they are successful. Nothing wrong with that. Now of course today's Kellogg corporation is a different beast than the original founder...

Are beverages the leading cause of obesity and CVD? Below is a link, providing all the scientific data needed.

There's a direct corilation between beverage consumption, obesity and diabetes. This isn't just because of calorific intacke.,

These drinks contain fructose without fibre. Fructose can't be used by the body. 100% of fructose is turned to fat and lipoproteins by the liver. Endogenous fat (de nova lipogenesis) is partially visceral fat - increased insulin resistance.

Regarding cheapness and marketing of dry breakfast cereals, I used to work for a company that made the boxes. We'd crush pallet-loads at a time to test package integrity, and afterwards there was a lot of cereal to dispose of. At one time I had 6 cases in my garage, all free. I looked at the heart on the box, all that fiber, and all those vitamins and concluded that eating MORE of it would improve my health. After the T2 diabetes diagnosis I still had a case left.

Kellogg was a vegetarian; if you visit Battle Creek you'll see the SDA roots of the whole business, the sanatorium and the cereal factories. This was launched in the age of "meat and potatoes", and I'd argue that Kellogg started the steady march towards the plant-based diet. My N=1 cereal diet was stupid, but it showed me what damage a hypercarb diet can do.

I've got this thing against the arch-vegetarian Kellogg, because I became obese and diabetic overeating his "healthy" cereals. The displacement of meat from the American diet bothers me. I was surprised at the USDA numbers, which if correct would say that the average American is 90% vegetarian already. This is not in the good sense of eating leafy greens and sweet potatoes; it's in the bad sense of O6 oils, flours, and sugars of every kind. These are the vegetarian raw materials for all the donuts, cookies, etc. It's the vegetarian diet of South India, which has a similar obesity crisis.

The arguing point is that sugary drinks were NOT common for thousands of years, they are a new addition to our diet in the last 100 years or so. Surely the ancient Egyptians or Romans or Scandanavians were not sipping California Chardonnay. They WERE eating grains and veggies along with their meat. I do agree that nutritionists' emphasis on grains and PUFA oils is destructive. But it is not the main cause of the obesity crisis. Our relatively new abundance of sugar in the modern diet diet in all forms, including sugary beverages, is what I think is a major factor.

One thing that USDA points out is how far the actual SAD deviates from their Food Pyramid. My rough calculation using their numbers shows that the REAL American diet is 40% fat/ 50% carbs/10% protein, 90% from plants, and in excess of 3000 calories per day. Vegetarians thankyouverymuch for all this obesity.

Earth to janknitz. What are we arguing about? That grapes and apples haven't been used to produce sugary drinks for thousands of years (I count chardonnay in this category - Calofornia koolaid)? Or that alcohol is a healthier beverage than grape or apple juice? Or that vegetarian-driven nutritionists aren't responsible for the current obesity crisis?

It's as much to the point as it possibly could be. Is it sugary drinks? Partly. Is it O6 oils from soybeans? Partly. Is it grains? Partly. Is it from overeating all three? YES. Is it because of focusing the diet on eating more of all these plant foods? YES. But - one more time - it's not just from sugary drinks. Which was the original question.

Earth to thhq: In the days before refrigeration and pressure canning, juice from fruit had to be fermented to be preserved beyond its growing season. The yeast and bacteria in the fermentation process uses up most of the sugar in the juice to produce CO2 and alcohol, leaving very little sugar behind for the drinker. It's a lot harder to drink 32 oz of wine in one sitting than 32 oz of Pepsi. Fresh juice may have been enjoyed by cultures in lower latitudes when and where the fruit was ripe and abundant, but it was not available to most cultures year round.

Earth to paleocrush. Once you squeeze the fruit it's sugary liquid, and it's been around as long as people have been drinking wine and cider. Only now we drink a LOT more for some reason. Read the linked report. Recognize that the dramatic increase in added fat consumption is ALL vegetable oil from soybeans, canola, etc etc. Vegetarians are 100% to blame for all the obesity.

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Answers

Sugar Nutrition UK claims that there are no consensus evidences of scientific evidences of sugar causing obesity and heart diseases. Many Press releases and news outlets have being focused on between high sugar consumption and rise of obesity and diabetes.

Fox news has given the list of reasons of obesity. The list is as follows

1) Pollution

2) Medicines

3) Sleep

4) Population age

5) Ancestors environment etc

But the list does not consist of any discussion on Sugar.Other press release site has included Insulin, Leptin that are related to Sugar but does not give concise evidences.

For heart diseases high amount of sugar in the blood is one of the major causes.

The point I want to clear is that Sugar is not the only major cause for obesity but definitely contributes or one of the major cause in heart diseases.

@thhq , You're focusing on one term — vegetarian — and I don't think your anti-vegetarian crusade is particularly logical. There's nothing inherently "vegetarian" about what Kellogg produces: while the ingredients might be grain-centric, pro-vegetarianism is not the rationale as to why this company (or any company) uses disproportionate amounts of grains and vegetable matter in their products. It's called profit margins. It's cheaper to make products out of GMO soy and of modernized wheat than out of animal matter... and the companies wind up with larger profit margins.

And Kellogg isn't WHY you became obese and diabetic: sure, you acquiesced to marketing tactics, but more so to the ease/convenience of pouring a bowl of cereal instead of cooking up fresh meals on your own. It's also an issue of affordability. Your bowl of flakes was undoubtably cheaper than a piece of grass-fed steak.

Isn't being Paleo also about taking responsibility for one's food and lifestyle choices? You make a conscious decision to eat in a manner counter to modern traditions for the sake of your own health. I would think that being successful in that would also require taking responsibility for one's past eating choices. No one forced you to eat a bowl of cereal... or a Big Mac or a Big Gulp... just as no one forced you to go Paleo. Personal responsibility and choice...

Kellogg was a vegetarian; if you visit Battle Creek you'll see the SDA roots of the whole business, the sanatorium and the cereal factories. This was launched in the age of "meat and potatoes", and I'd argue that Kellogg started the steady march towards the plant-based diet. My N=1 cereal diet was stupid, but it showed me what damage a hypercarb diet can do.

Regarding cheapness and marketing of dry breakfast cereals, I used to work for a company that made the boxes. We'd crush pallet-loads at a time to test package integrity, and afterwards there was a lot of cereal to dispose of. At one time I had 6 cases in my garage, all free. I looked at the heart on the box, all that fiber, and all those vitamins and concluded that eating MORE of it would improve my health. After the T2 diabetes diagnosis I still had a case left.

Grains are sugar. Salivary amylases break down complex carbs (sans fiber) as soon as they hit your mouth, the pancreas finishes the job. Fat is not the problem unless one eats nothing but pork fat for all daily meal courses.

High carbs raise triglycerides and produce A LOT of small LDL (atherogenic) particles.

Earth to janknitz. What are we arguing about? That grapes and apples haven't been used to produce sugary drinks for thousands of years (I count chardonnay in this category - Calofornia koolaid)? Or that alcohol is a healthier beverage than grape or apple juice? Or that vegetarian-driven nutritionists aren't responsible for the current obesity crisis?

Earth to paleocrush. Once you squeeze the fruit it's sugary liquid, and it's been around as long as people have been drinking wine and cider. Only now we drink a LOT more for some reason. Read the linked report. Recognize that the dramatic increase in added fat consumption is ALL vegetable oil from soybeans, canola, etc etc. Vegetarians are 100% to blame for all the obesity.

No. Overeating is. Sugar in beverages is part of that, but beverages have contained sugar for thousands of years without creating an obesity crisis. Read the SAD news here: added fat consumption up 67% since 1970, grain consumption up 41%, added sugar consumption up 19%. Meat and dairy are up too, but only by 6%. The average American has increased diet calories enormously over the last 45 years. And almost all of that comes from vegetable sources. It's a vegetarian nightmare scenario.

One thing that USDA points out is how far the actual SAD deviates from their Food Pyramid. My rough calculation using their numbers shows that the REAL American diet is 40% fat/ 50% carbs/10% protein, 90% from plants, and in excess of 3000 calories per day. Vegetarians thankyouverymuch for all this obesity.

It's as much to the point as it possibly could be. Is it sugary drinks? Partly. Is it O6 oils from soybeans? Partly. Is it grains? Partly. Is it from overeating all three? YES. Is it because of focusing the diet on eating more of all these plant foods? YES. But - one more time - it's not just from sugary drinks. Which was the original question.

Leading, intended as the single most important, is probably correct. But there are other factors which have a similar impact. Sugar in foods, processed foods, high doses of omega 6, high inflammation foods all are in the same ballpark.

Bottom line is that, ultimately, sugar intake may lead to - and in many people does - early death and obesity and heart disease are merely manifestations.

I think that if your GI system doesn't sense the bulk to match that huge sugar load you got with soda or a glass of orange juice, it makes you hungrier.

This is exacerbated with diet drinks - your brain senses you got something sweet but no bulk and calories to match, so off you go and binge. Diet sodas and diet food in general (low fat, "whole grain" BS which just get broken up to simple carbs, etc.) are appetite stimulators.